Maryland Community Newspapers Online
Multimedia:
Click here to see the audio slideshow
Emilio Carlo, 15, sends his bow flying across the strings of his viola as teacher Bill Foster perches behind him, their eyes following the sheet music set up in front of them.
After Carlo finishes, Foster — a violist for more than 40 years with the National Symphony Orchestra — steps up next to him with his own viola, an instrument slightly largely than a violin.
Carlo is one of 20 students from the metropolitan area selected this year as youth fellows with the National Symphony Orchestra. As part of the program, the Suitland High School sophomore takes private lessons with Foster on Wednesday evenings at Foster's home in northwest Washington, D.C.
Intended only for advanced students with a desire to pursue music after high school, the mentorship and orchestral music training program, now in its 30th year, "helps prepare young orchestral musicians to be the musicians of the future," said Carole Wysocki, NSO education director.
In 2010, some of the students will perform monthly on the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage starting Jan. 14 and running through June. Others will perform in private recitals at the Kennedy Center. They will not perform together as an orchestra, but divided into groups based on their instrument.
Throughout the year, the fellows are also paired with professional musicians, many who play with the National Symphony Orchestra, for one-on-one weekly private lessons. They attend National Symphony Orchestra rehearsals regularly and sit in on master classes taught by visiting musicians.
Watkins, the Oxon Hill High School junior, spends his Friday evenings with teacher Paul Fadoul — a former NSO youth fellow — studying percussion instruments like the snare drum and marimba, a large, xylophone-like instrument.
He picked up a snare drum for the first time as a sixth-grader at Waldon Woods Elementary School in Clinton. Watkins said he was hooked when he discovered he could apply basic percussion skills to any number of instruments.
"I like the variety of being able to move around to different instruments that make different sounds," he said. "It's not just playing one instrument and playing that for hours."
Fadoul, 30, was a fellow from 1993 to 1996 while he attended W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax, Va. He studied at the Yale School of Music and went on to become a professional percussionist and teacher in the Washington, D.C., area. He said the sheer amount of music he was exposed to during those years has proved most influential.
"I loved leaving my high school in the middle of the day to watch a rehearsal," he said. "It was just so inspiring every time I went."
Once selected, fellows maintain their spots for the rest of their time in high school. Six or seven fellowships open up each year as fellows graduate; Wysocki said more than 70 students apply for the program annually.
Carlo, who is starting his first year as a fellow, first picked up the viola in the fifth grade. He plans to study at a music conservatory after high school and pursue a career as a professional musician.
He spends at least 20 hours each week practicing, on top of homework, football practice and time with friends. He will not perform on the Millennium Stage this year, but is looking forward to playing there in the future.
"As you play more concerts, your nerves get stronger," he said.
This year marks Hamilton's final season with the program. He will perform on the Millennium Stage on Feb. 2. Hamilton, a fellow since his sophomore year, has played the cello since the sixth grade and hopes to eventually play with an orchestra.
His instructor, David Howard, has been a cellist with the National Symphony Orchestra since 1971 and has taught fellows for about 15 years. Most of his students have gone on to careers as musicians or music instructors.
"They're fun to teach," he said. "It's always gratifying to teach someone who wants to learn."
Howard has been working with Hamilton since he started in his sophomore year. This year, Howard said he is focusing on improving Hamilton's technique, from where he places his fingers on the instrument to how he holds the bow.
Hamilton calls Howard "the father of my music," and said he credits much of his success to the program.
"I'm excited, sad and ready," he said. "It has been preparing me for this moment."
If you go
National Symphony Orchestra
Youth Fellows
When: 6 p.m. on Jan. 14, Feb. 2, Mar. 10, Apr. 30, and June 3; Jordan Hamilton will perform Feb. 2.
Where: Millennium Stage, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F Street NW, Washington, D.C.
Tickets: Free
Box office: 202-467-4600,
www.kennedy-center.org
Emilio Carlo, 15, practices his viola at a lesson on Nov. 4. Carlo is one of three Prince George's County students participating in the National Symphony Orchestra's Fellows program.
